The purpose of conducting field crop research is to come up with fact-based answers to farming’s challenging questions for which no previous answers exist. Effects of experimental treatments or variables on crop yield or other important outcomes are evaluated under controlled conditions and then those results are used to predict their future performance across the broader extent of agricultural production. On-farm research not only seeks to identify answers to important questions but may also serve to validate previously discovered answers or convince growers that an alternative crop management practice is profitable for their own situations.

The notion of conducting on-farm research is not new. Many farmers have routinely conducted their own on-farm trials for years. Today’s GPS-enabled farming technologies greatly help to simplify the logistics of conducting on-farm trials. Feel free to browse through any of the research protocols listed in the following links. If you have an interest in collaborating with us on one or more of the trials, contact the respective Purdue Extension specialist who is responsible for the trial.